Handsy, drunk

So the party last night was fun! Unfortunately we did not think to check the Giants schedule before deciding to take BART and MUNI to get there. When we got to the Embarcadero station, it was packed to the gills with people going to the game. Oops.

We packed in with the rest of the people and waited for our train (there were 3 lines that drop off at the ball park, and one that goes far beyond it, which is the one we were aiming for). When the first train pulled in, a really drunk guy in full Giants regalia pushed his way to the front and onto the empty train. This was amusing since it was the end of the line for that particular train, and he was shooed off by the conductor. The amusement wore off quickly as he ended up standing close to where we were.

As we waited for the next train, he stood there listing back and forth, and trying to talk to anyone who dared to make eye contact, or just anyone who caught his eye. He was right on the edge of the platform, so I made a comment to Kent that I hoped we didn't have a medical emergency in the station (code for "someone jumped or fell on the tracks"). Apparently this caught the guy's attention, since he called "Hey (garble)". And I guess he was talking to me since he then reached out and pushed me on the shoulder.

Oh, yes, he did.

I remember looking at him with surprise, followed immediately by narrowed eyes and what felt like a fine sneer. I wasn't scared at all and was just about to tell him NOT to touch me, when the stranger in front of me confronted him instead. Nice guy! The drunk was I think trying to get my attention instead of starting a fight, since he didn't bristle defensively when confronted. So I ignored him again. When the first train actually going to the park pulled in, he pushed on there and I felt bad for the people packed in there with him, and hoped they would escape without being vomited on.

By the time the train we needed showed up, the station was empty, and we made it to the party without incident. It turned out we were early since Paul (the surprisee) wanted dessert at the restaurant, which was not in Sabrina's plan. We had drinks and hors d'ouvres (?) and lively conversation while we waited, and when the lights were turned out, one of my friends grabbed my knee (hee hee hee!!). Paul nearly had a heart attack when he came in (we didn't yell immediately), turned, and saw his darkened living room full of silent people. THEN we yelled. I couldn't see it but the pictures are good!

Slept very late this morning, and soon it will be time to go to the Greek. It's not going to be a productive day at all.

By the way, I'm looking for inspiration for my bathroom materials (floor and tub enclosure) - anyone have any suggestions? I've been looking through my Andy Goldsworthy book and found some interesting things, but have no idea how to do this in tile. I like natural/spa feel but would also not mind something like dark red in there. Plus, I like glass. Ideas? Please to comment...

Oh, and I almost forgot! This got emailed out yesterday. Deer 1, Man 0. IMO it's too funny to be real.

Slowly acclimating...

I've been back from Asia for a couple of days now, and I think the jet lag is abating. It wasn't too bad this time (no hallucinations!) but it was still very, very difficult to get up for work in the mornings. I'm looking forward to the weekend, when I can get caught up on sleep.

The really unfortunate thing about acclimating to anything new is being uncomfortable in the transition time. The problem is you have to put up with being uncomfortable to be better off in the long run. I think this applies to several things - time zone changes, climates, exercise regimes... I should probably try to be transitional in only one or two of these instead of several at a time.

There is a lot on the plate for this weekend - a birthday party on Friday (cake!), house projects followed by dinner followed by REM at the Greek on Saturday, and so many things on Sunday I'll have to pick and choose (although a work function in SF looks like one of the things I'll end up doing). I should also exercise since I'll be in Houston most of next week, which means copious amounts of cow butt with vendor dinners. Oof.

I should go to the pool tonight so I flail less in the Monday classes, but it's tough to do without the peer pressure. Oh yeah, and fighting the flailing since I'm still acclimating to swimming. But once I'm back in reasonable shape, the swimming will become a lot more fun! I hope...

I... what... where am I??

You know, initially, I felt bad about taking today as a travel day, since I got in kind of late yesterday afternoon and was feeling pretty good. Now? I don't feel so bad. I am so scattered, it's really not funny.

It was pretty easy falling asleep last night; I managed to stay up till 9:30. But then I woke up at 4, was awake and feeling pretty alert for an hour, and was just considering getting up when I fell asleep again. My alarm was set for 6 (I told myself if I felt good I'd go in), but I ended up hitting the snooze. A lot. Like until 9 am. I couldn't seem to wake up all the way and was having extremely strange dreams, most of which started with me getting up.

Now it's 11, I've been up and moving around, and I feel dazed and can't concentrate on anything.

Still, this is better than the jet lag when you get 1-1/2 hours of sleep at night and then have to try and stay awake all day.

I checked my email this morning and feed-in at the unit in Korea has been deferred AGAIN until Thursday, or maybe even Friday. Oy. I should get my email synchronized today and see what is going on and if there is anything I can do to help out.

If my concentration improves after lunch, I'll do some work from home. Fingers crossed - I would like to lighten the load for the rest of this week.

In other news a college friend is not doing well at all - his years of drug abuse are catching up with him in a big way, and his health is so bad he really doesn't have reserves to draw on. His mental state is deteriorating rapidly. And yet, he's still using. It's painful to have primary feelings of horror and pity for a friend, and to know that there's nothing to do to help. One of my other friends has been willing to confront him, and good for him becuase most of us don't have the nerve. I admire his unflagging efforts, even though they are falling on deaf ears.

You know a better use for a holiday weekend? I do.

So, I've spent pretty much my whole weekend waiting for something to happen. And for whatever reason (obfuscation, remember the posts from February when I was here for equipment inspections), nothing happened. In fact, feed in won't occur for another day. So I think my grand achievement this weekend was making some process recommendations for something that may happen by the end of the week.

Woo.

On the other hand, since we were actually in the refinery waiting, instead of in the hotel waiting, I have accumulated 2 days of comp time. The other experienced guy arrived last night so I'm going home today. Since comp time is not available for work travel, I'll be taking Tuesday to recover, which is a little consolation.

Now what to do with the comp time later... hmmm hmm hmmmmmmmm.

In other food news, I had bibimbop (ho idea how to spell this but that's how it sounds - BEE-bim-bop) in a stone bowl. It's rice and lots of vegetables, and a little beef and some chili sauce. The presentation is nice but when you get it you're supposed to mix it all up. It's served in a hot stone bowl, so it sizzles for quite a while and you end up with crispy rice. Fun, tasty, and interactive - all pluses for food as far as I'm concerned! The refinery cafeteria lunch yesterday also had a side dish of teeny tiny anchovies in a salty sweet sauce. As long as you didn't look too closely at their tiny faces they were delicious.

This week I'll be in CA - watch for a jet lag post soon! Next week: Houston.

Cow stomach - new facts

DID YOU KNOW: that only the first of a cow's four stomachs is thick enough to chop up, cook and eat on its own? The fourth is so thin that it's only good for soup.

I learned this today when the division boss where the startup is happening took us and the sulfur plant guys to lunch - where the house specialty was cow stomach. I'd been expecting the honeycomb tripe, but it was meaty chunks. I think one of my coworkers got a picture, so if I get it I'll post it. All in all it didn't taste bad at all. But I didn't try one of the sections of intestine. Stuffed with something which may have come directly from the cow. Eww.

Nothing much is happening on the startup yet - the real excitement gets going at about the same time I have to leave. But that doesn't prevent us from having 2-1/2 hour meetings to talk about this and that!

I'm hiding out in my room this evening. Too much talking today, I need some quiet time. Plus with jet lag I will be sleeping early.

More soon...

BTW I think the final soup and rice course had pieces of cow stomach #4. just a theory.

more B2B photos

Yes, I date him.


Smoking "cold war" missile, complete with USSR and US groups, along with bad 80s music.



Hunka hunka burnin' polyester

Not sure if you can read his back, but it says, "HEY LADIES SLAP MY ASS!!". I bet that duct tape makes a satisfying noise when you smack it.

Confusing, but festive

Everybody wants Elvis to visit

Yikes! But I want that wig.

Do you think he thinks that gas prices are too high?

And, last but not least, a video pan of the Elvises taken on Fell Street... (my favorite part is at the end).

Bay to Breakers

there they are!

I'll add a link to photos (watch for updates!) but found a video and some pictures on the SF Chronicle's site.

Kent ran with the Elvises. They were always getting pulled aside for pictures and drinks and dancing, so they moved slowly along the route. I thought at the last minute of getting an Ann-Margaret outfit together, but couldn't manage it and went as a spectator instead. I met up with Daniel and we found the Elvises on Fell by the Panhandle.

Other highlights:
The people in salmon costumes running against everyone else
the guys who rigged up gas pump nozzles to their posteriors
the group of women dressed as vaginas (got lots of attention as you might guess)

I heard there was a group there dressed as Filipino prisoners dancing to "Thriller", but I didn't see this myself. There weas a smattering of naked people, mostly men in their 60s. I didn't see any nekkid women, now that I think about it.

There were PLENTY of really, really drunk people. People were using Golden Gate Park and even bushes by buildings on Van Ness Ave as toilets - in some cases funny but for the most part, I can think of things I would rather have seen! (although I also have to admit that the porta potties were disgusting - when will people learn that hovering NEVER WORKS for everyone who has to use the facilities after you do? just sit down!!! That way all the seat sees is skin. Honestly, people.)

Young@Heart movie - Sweet!

Kent and I saw the movie "Young@Heart" tonight. I thought it would be interesting (I've seen some of their stuff on YouTube - "My Generation"), and it turned out to be quite a touching and funny film. Footage of the rehearsals is included, as are stage performances, and some of the singers' home lives. Also, some music video like things. There was a mash-up of "Road to Nowhere" and "Shout" which was entertaining, but my favorite is "I Wanna Be Sedated":



A couple of the singers, especially a guy named Fred, have fantastic voices. The rest are OK voices but it's obvious they're having a great time out there performing. And yes, there were two parts where I cried. I'm becoming sappier as I get older.

I would not want the chorus director's job.

All in all a fun movie. If you don't like theaters, this one would do just as well on DVD, especially if you have a good sound system.

I have limited confidence in your leadership.

I laughed.

That's HAWT!

So, it's 97 degrees in Richmond today, and people are freaking out. It's not humid so it doesn't feel that bad to me, but people are beside themselves anyway. (I called Heather earlier this week and told her about our impending heat wave as a joke, since she's had temperatures like this in AZ for the last 2 months already)

I am considering going to the pool to work out after work today, but I have a feeling a lot of people may already be there, which is not so good for those who want to swim laps. Plus the screaming kids are more annoying now than when I was one. And people are so sensitive when you beat their kid to pick up change off the bottom of the pool. I'm just sayin'.

It was pretty warm yesterday, too. I went to the gym and lost more than a pound of water weight by sweating. So what do you think I had with my dinner, water? Oh my no. I had to have Zinfandel. So I've had a low grade headache most of the day from the dehydration, although I think I'm finally starting to catch up on the water.

The next couple of days are supposed to be hot, but then it's supposed to cool back down. The Bay to Breakers is this coming Sunday, so I hope it's cooler then. Rather, Kent is going to pray that it's cooler then, since he's running with about 30 other people, all dressed in polyester Elvis jumpsuits and bad Elvis wigs and glued on Elvis sideburns. It's less funny when you're parboiling.

The trip to Korea has been delayed for a couple of days, so now I (along with three other people) will be spending the whole memorial day weekend working. Damn. Now I recall some of the downsides of tech service....

Shuffle Meme

I saw this over on Samurai Frog (one that dad likes to read - this guy is a prolific writer) and found his so funny I had to try this myself. Here are the rules:

1. Put your iTunes/ music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must put down the song name no matter what. (note: I cheated a little here since I have some things with labels like "track 3" of Unknown Album - if that came up I'd do another forward)

And here we go!

What would best describe your personality?
"Big Indian" The Dandy Warhols.
Huh?

What do you like in a guy/girl?
"We Need Jealousy" Marc Almond.
I promise, I find this much more tiring than alluring.

How do you feel today?
"Good Day" Luce.
Nice!

What is your life's purpose?
"Barbarella [Deep Dish Mix]" Sven Vath.
Um. OK.

What is your motto?
"Hunter" Bjork.
So... let's see... if you want something you have to go after it, maybe?

What do your friends think of you?
"Did It In a Minute" Hall & Oates.
Is this good or bad?

What do you think of your parents?
"Deuce" the Cardigans
Hmmm, I think this one was a miss - a post-breakup song?

What do you think about very often?
"the World Doesn't Know" Tilt
It's really better that you don't.

What do you think of your best friend?
"Fingertips" They Might Be Giants (the one that goes "something got a hold of my hand, I didn't know what grabbed my hand, but there's where all my troubles began")
So, I blame my troubles on my best friend? I should examine whether it's correlation or causation.

What do you think of your crush?
"Lonely Summer Nights" the Stray Cats
Ouch!

What is your life story?
"Hairdresser on Fire" Morrissey
If you take the lyrics "and you're always busy, really busy" into account, that might work.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
"Jin Go Lo Ba" Fatboy Slim.
Apparently, I want to bounce around yelling "Jin goooooooo, jin go lo ba ba, lo ba ba, lo ba ba!" And you can bet when I'm independently wealthy, I will do it.

What do you think when you see your crush?
"Hit Music" Pet Shop Boys
Slight miss on this one - although I do think of the PSB song "Shopping" every time I tell myself I need to do some shopping.

What do your parents think of you?
"Sister of Night" Depeche Mode
HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!!!! Which of my sisters is Night??

What do strangers think of you?
"fingertips" They Might be Giants (the birdlike repetition of "Please pass the milk, please").
So, that I'm birdlike and repetitive? Could be worse.

How's your love life?
"Home [Air Round the Golf Remix]" Depeche Mode.
Actually, it's not quite this languorous. Or scary ("the gauge of the deadliest trap ever laid"?)

What will they play at your funeral?
"Force 51" Austin Leeds
Upbeat!

What will you dance to at your wedding?
"Closedown" The Cure
At least I won't have to worry about tripping over my feet at this tempo.

What is your hobby/interest?
"Nothing to Say" Chris Isaak
Accepting breakups? I've given this up.

What's your biggest secret?
"Ode to Boy" Yaz
My fascination with watching crying boys? Yeesssssss, that's my biggest secret....

What do you think of your friends?
"All Through the Years" erasure
That's fitting!

What song do you listen to when you are sad?
"The Richest Man in Babylon" Thievery Corporation
I guess I am sad at cocktail parties.

In love?
"Ruined in a Day" New Order
HAAA HA HA HA HA!

What song do you air guitar to?
"Tragedy" Marc Almond
Good, I need an introspective one. I'm too self conscious to let a big air guitar solo rip.

What should be your signature karaoke song?
"Perception" Cass and Slide.
No vocals? Perfect.

What is your greatest desire?
"Walking Man" from Buddha Bar Nature.
I guess it has something to do with the sitar. Or travel?

What does next year have in store for you?
"Charlie M" Space
I am going to have a lot of confusion.

What's your outlook on life?
"Everywhere that I'm Not" Translator
My ipod DOES know me!

How will you die?
"Dig My Grave" They Might be Giants
Mysterious.

Do people secretly lust after you?
"Dirt Bike" They Might be Giants .
Wait, is that a yes or no?

The best advice you will ever get?
"Ship of Fools" erasure
"One and one were two, two and two were four."

using two legs can be funny

Serious.

Another missed opportunity...

What evil genius thinks things like this up? And more importantly, how do they get these ideas to market??

OH NOES! The blotchy returns!

Crap! I was getting ready for work this morning and noticed that the melasma (blotchy darker pigment) patches on my face are starting to show up again! I've been so good with the SPF 30+ sunblocks, too! NOOOOOOOOO!!!! This is not good since some of them actually went completely away - but their return is in the same place, same shape, etc. I need to live in a cave.

Crappity crap crap.

Speaking of scary, Spench is in Morrocco.

Nawwwwwlins, yawl.

Four days in New Orleans. There was heat. There was rain. There was stinky mud. There was music. There were drag queens. There was liver damage. And best of all, oh my lord, there was food.

I flew into New Orleans last Wednesday, via Denver. I had been working the blackberry since getting to SFO trying to find someone else arriving around the same time, to share a cab. As luck would have it, Ann and Erin were on my same DIA-MSY flight so it all worked out beautifully. We got in fairly late due to some mechanical delays on the plane, but still made a brief appearance at the nearby Irish pub. Kent and I had been going on short sleep rations so we pulled the plug around midnight.

Thursday we (well, Kent and I) were up relatively early. As it turns out, everyone else was out until 7 that morning and weren't moving, although we'd arranged to meet in the hotel bar at 10:30. So, Kent and I went to the fest around 11 and set up a space by the Acura (main) stage, after getting some lunch at the booths (more on that later). I think the first people showed up around 3 or 4 pm. I can't really remember who we saw the first day. I'll see if I can find a schedule and post a link. We were hoping for dinner at the Bourbon House, but the wait was kind of long and the half that were not willing to wait were more insistent than the ones who did want to wait, so we went to some other place in the Quarter for dinner (about the same wait, oh well).

Thursday evening we went and saw some Zydeco bands at Rock-n-Bowl. Unfortunately I started literally falling asleep around midnight, while the zydeco was going full blast. It's not that I don't like zydeco - and it's not falling-asleep music either. I was just very, very tired. So, plug pulled early again, around 1:00 this time (everyone else out till 7).

Friday, Kent and I started with lunch at the Bourbon House. We ate FAR too much, including oysters, spinach salads, my soup, his fish, and our shared creme brulee, not to mention the blueberry mojitos. Oof (totally worth it). I kicked around the quarter while everyone else went to the fest. The fest is nice and all, but I think it's really kind of wasted on me. I haven't heard of 95% of the groups, and with the competing sound systems, it wasn't possible to hang out and really listen exclusively to one act. I had fun wandering around, except for forgetting major things at the hotel twice, which required a lot of backtracking. Bourbon St. is a total tourist trap, but entertaining, and you can walk the street with a drink in your hand, as long as it's in a plastic to-go cup. Rue Royal has lots of antiques including furniture, art, and jewelry (saw a nice little canary diamond ring, very firey, and only - gulp! - $9500?? moving on!). I went up Magazine St. and found a place that specializes in art glass, kind of a Crucible vibe going on there. They had some stunning pieces but I was not comfortable trying to get glass back in my checked luggage. I also walked along the riverwalk. I went by Cafe Du Monde but thankfully was still so full from lunch I was not seriously tempted by the beignets. It was raining on and off all afternoon. The Missisippi didn't look all that wide, but it was muddy brown and there was a lot of boat traffic on the river.

Friday night, I got back around 7, left a message for Kent, and planned to go to the hotel bar, but fell asleep first. Kent got back around 8:30, cleaned up, and we went to meet everyone for dinner at the Port of (not Last) Call. I asked if it were raining, Kent said no, and we started walking, only to get caught in a Gulf Coast downpour. We were soaked by the time we got there, but our luck was in in that the others had just gotten seated. The burgers there were outstanding. Then on to Lafittes (originally a blacksmith shop, now a bar), where everyone had moved on, then on to the quarter we went. We regrouped at the hotel bar, then a group went to the Cat's Meow (karaoke joint on Bourbon St). Kent and I went to meet Ann at an Irish bar but she'd already moved on (we heard later a girl in her group was dissatisfied with every place they went after the first 10 minutes, so they moved around a lot), so we went to the Cat's Meow.

The Cat's Meow has a live webcam, but since Kent's group didn't start there, I have no incriminating photos for you this year. Most of the songs we heard were hip hop karaoke which was.... new. we left when we saw a couple of cops pushing their way through to the back of the bar (and then seeing an ambulance pull up - we heard later a girl went down in the toilets with alcohol poisoning), moving on to Parade, one of the local gay bars. The music there was electronic, and there was a go-go dancer in a jock strap on the bar. Kent gave me a couple of bucks to give to the dancer (who was very well... behaved). We got some drinks and chatted at the bar with a drag queen from Mobile, Alabama. Plug was pulled around 2:30 (see, we were improving).

Saturday morning we were awkened around 8 with massive thunder and a torrential downpour. We heard later that there was a tornado warning at the time, but we missed that whole part. We were moving fairly slowly, and didn't get out of the hotel until noon, then went to the Clover Diner (where we met our crowd just leaving, natch). It was a delightful little diner with a very queeny short order cook (Kent knows what I like!) and you could get deep fried Tater Tots there. Who could refuse??

I was talked into going along to the Fest on Saturday. We got out there kind of late (3-ish) and set up by the Gentilly stage. Marcia Bell and Diana Krall were both playing there and Kent had no intention of moving. Fortunately we were at the quiet end of the field that day, close to beer and porta-potties with no lines (the Jimmy Buffett end of the field was packed out). I wandered over to hear Bobby McFarrin (just heard some scat for a few minutes and walked on), and tried to hear some of the Subdudes, but it was so crowded on that side it wasn't so fun. Lots of people in the crowd were wearing Wellingtons, which threw me until I saw the state of the field. The previous 24 hours of rain had left several mud pits - including one blocking me from the food. (NOOOOOOOO). And this was no ordinary mud! This was 3 inch deep, churned up, saturated with horse manure and getting hotter as the day went on mud. Boo-ya! That is a full experience.

Kent, Erin, Jeff and I went to dinner at Dominique's on Saturday night, the hotel restaurant. No one from the group had eaten there (although we heard that Matt Groening had been there the previous evening - I think I'm the only person that didn't say "Who?"), and it looked pretty high end, so we gave it a try. It turned out to be overpriced (Erin was incensed by the $30 corkage fee), and high on presentation, but the food was good so we forgave some of that. It was highfalutin' enough that I couldn't tell you what the amuse bouche was, but it was tasty. And the foie gras on cherries? delightful.

After that big dinner with 2 bottles of wine, we were not inspired to go out to Frenchman street. Instead we decided to have one drink at the irish bar so we would at least say we left the hotel, started playing pool, and the plan fell apart when more people from the group kept drifting in. At one point we were almost kicked out when someone threw a pool cue (the tables had just gotten new slate and felt). I lasted until maybe 2:30 and headed back to the hotel.

Sunday morning I was up and out to pick up some things people had asked for, dragging Kent in my wake. I was very sad that I didn't have time for the beignets, but I had to leave the hotel at noon to catch my flight. And then I flew home. Kent says the Sunday shows, including the Neville Brothers (who have not played together since Katrina), were unbelievable. My friend Andy wrote today that the NYT was wetting itself over the Fest.

everyone checks their messages at the Fest

So, a fun trip, but I get far more excited about the food than the music. Here are some tips for things to eat (including, if I know it, where to get it):

• blueberry mojitos, oysters, spinach salads, creme brulee (Bourbon House)


• crawfish etoufee (Rock-n-Bowl - Andy's recommendation, I didn't try it)


• crawfish bread, crawfish monica, boiled crawfish, couchon du lait (suckling pig) poboys, fresh lemonade (Jazz Fest food stands)


• beignets and chickory coffee (Cafe Du Monde)


• muffaletta (Central Grocery, other side of Decatur from the French Market - closed on Sunday so I didn't get a chance to try it)


• hamburgers (Port of Call (w-baked potato) or Clover Diner (Tater Tots on the menu - BLTs and other diner fare also very good))


• fancy NO cooking (Redfish, Mr. B's)

I worked out in the pool for a hour tonight, first time this season so it was painful, but I think I worked off at least a little of the butter I ate this weekend.

And now, to bed.